Sails up first time this season

Let's see here. I've slacked off a week and missed posting last weekends events. Dirk made it home safely on Wednesday and on Friday we headed down to the marina. We decided that Saturday would be a very nice day to take the old gal out for a spin and finally after a long time of no sailing, shake her sails out. Dirk also wanted to adjust the rigging so we pulled out of the slip and headed into the bay. Speaking of which, I thought I would show you where our marina is located in relation to the pass into the gulf.

The blue arrow indicates where St. Andrews Marina is. As you can see we are not too far from the pass that dumps us into the gulf. As you emerge from the pass there are jetties on either side that extend a good ways. As we come out of the jetties if we make a right we can anchor by the beach and dive or snorkel there. The visibility tends to be decent most of the time, great other times. If you hang a left, the land mass that you see is Shell Island. It extends quite a ways and is very narrow in places. So we anchor on the bay side and have access to the gulf side. Anyway, we got the sails up and did some maneuvers so that Dirk could adjust the rigging. There wasn't much wind and we only saw a little over 4 knots at times. But it was enough to get out and do what needed to be done. I didn't realize it was so cool in the bay. I figured it would be a good time to start on that summer tan. I ended up putting a sweater on and still got chilled.
But I can't complain, it was a beautiful day. Still waiting on CB Sails to come out and measure for our new sail cover. Don't know if you can see but it is in pretty sad shape. That's what is hanging off the boom with green stuff growing on it. Since the cover is in bad shape water tends to get inside and starts to grow. I'm sure a sail cleaning is probably in line soon. This weekend we went back to the boat with the intentions of having a nice weekend on Shell Island. We had a ton of things to haul back down. Months ago we brought the dinghy and motor home with us to do some repairs. Well the dinghy made it into the truck but the motor got missed. We do have oars so it wasn't a complete disaster. It would just take us a little longer to get to the island. We also decided to bring Butter's with us as the weather was going to be nice and cool and he needs to get use to being on the water. Let's just say I will be calling the vet to see what I can give the cat for motion sickness. The three P's were distributed throughout the vehicle on the drive down. Pee, Puke, and Poo. Few of which made it into the litter box. This photo somehow reminds me why I try not to over indulge. I know he probably felt the same way. Poor baby. By the next day though he was beginning to feel like his old self again and began to make himself at home. Here he has staked claim to the settee and by Sunday he had a favorite spot selected. He likes the top step as he can see the world outside and is able to watch over my shoulder as I work in the galley. Just in case I drop anything he wants to call dibs on it first. We never made it to Shell Island as the weather report called for afternoon and evening Thunderstorms going over into Sunday. So we elected to stay in the marina and do what we have become so good at. Work....Dirk finally located the spot that he wanted to install the battery for the windlass. He worked on cutting and fitting wood under the vee berth to mount the battery box. He also removed the last two hatches that need replacement and re installed the bathroom hatch. Its amazing the difference they make. They are so clear to see through that I didn't realize how bad the old ones were. Our hatches from the inside have a Velcro edge to hold the screens in place so the last owners made sun covers to help keep the heat out. I went one step further and added the reflective material. I had an extra sun blocker for a vehicle so I cut it up and just slip it under the cover. I think I said before though that I will be making exterior covers for the windows to help protect them. Sunbrella was ordered last night so it looks as though sewing is once again in my future. I'm including one more photo for today and that is of the nav pod with the refinished table and drink holder added. We are building a new cockpit table but until we can figure all the details out I went ahead and refinished the old one. Just wish it wasn't so small, we actually love it.